A disappointed Bill Weisgerber thanked "yes" voters Wednesday after the proposed millage to fix county roads, bridges and culverts failed in a close race Tuesday.

"The voters have spoken and we must abide by their decision," said Weisgerber, who is chair of the road commission board. "We will do the best we can with what we have, however the need is still there and roads will not improve."

The 2 mills would have raised $18.6 million of additional revenue over six years for roads and bridges across the county. The road commission would have had $12 million for repair and construction on primary roads with the rest going by statute to local cities and villages for their roads.

"Replacement of, or even improvement of, our existing road system will have to wait until appropriate resources are made available," Weisgerber said. "We hope that the citizens of Ionia will continue to patiently deal with road conditions as they are as we continue to try to keep the roads maintained as best we can.

He thanked road commission staff for "their extra efforts in dealing with bad winter weather and floods with wash outs."

Weisgerber said he questioned whether everyone who voted Tuesday turned their ballot over to vote on the county road millage, which was printed on the ballot's flip side. While 6,650 voters cast ballots, 6,138 votes were cast on the county millage question. Ionia County Clerk Tonda Rich said that "could be an explanation" for the difference of 512 votes.